


The Fear

by Vinnocent



Series: Teen Titans: Morph! [22]
Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate, DCU (Animated), DCU (Comics), Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Casual Ableism, Consent Issues, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Episode: s02e05 Fear Itself, Gen, Panic Attacks, Phobias
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-02
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-03 03:47:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1730018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vinnocent/pseuds/Vinnocent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Teen Titans decide to get closer to the Animorphs by inviting them over for the movie, and it works pretty well... until people start going missing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A knock at her door had Raven running to lock it in time. “Raven?” asked Robin’s voice.

“I’m… meditating,” she lied through the door. Behind her, her books and statues flew around the room uncontrolled, ripping, tearing, shattering.

There was a pause then, “O… kay… Um, I just thought I’d remind you that the Animorphs will be here in an hour or so. I can still cancel if you want.”

“No,” she said quickly. “No, have your fun. I’ll come when I can.”

“If you’re sure,” Robin said uncertainly.

“I am.”

She listened until she heard him walk away. She turned back to her room, which then lay in quiet disaster. The distraction had helped her regain her composure, but half her things had been completely destroyed.

She sighed and slid down to the floor. Temrash was right. She _was_ a time bomb. Everything he said about her in all their nasty mental arguments was always right. Maybe she didn’t have to wait until her birthday. Maybe she’d just bring down everything on her own.

In a far corner, a crystal ball exploded.

－ －

A couple hours later, the main room was filled with teenagers. Raven sat at the far end, reading through a sixteenth century grimoire. Near her was Cyborg, playing with a handheld device that might have been a game and might have been a simulator for one of his devices, there was no telling. Near him was Robin, who looked to be dozing off, something he did whenever waiting for more than a short moment. At the center of the couch were Jake, Marco, and Beast Boy, the ones looking most forward to the movie, though Beast Boy was sitting in on the floor in front of them, reading over the back of the DVD case again. Cassie and Rachel sat next to them. Two more sat in front of them on the floor.

Starfire flew over, arms loaded with bowls of food. “I have come bearing--!” She blinked at the group. “Who are you?”

Jake looked over his shoulder at her with an amused smirk, while the other Titans appeared confused and Robin wiped sleep from his eyes. “Who’s who?” Jake asked innocently.

“The blonde one on the floor,” she said, squinting at the boy. “Sitting next to Ax’s human morph.”

“Tobias morphed human when he got here,” Robin answered. Then, he suddenly jumped. “Wait, you can’t demorph!”

The Animorphs burst into laughter. Rachel was in tears. “Oh my god, I can’t believe you _didn’t notice_!” she gasped between bouts of laughter.

“You can morph now?” Starfire asked, turning back to the boy who was watching them all with a blank expression.

“Yes,” he said in a monotone voice.

Starfire squealed with joy and tackled him with a hug. “This is cause for much celebration! We should--" She then glanced back in the direction of her dropped bowls. “Oops.”

“Ax will still eat it,” said Marco. “He tried to eat the stuff off the theater floor once.”

“There are many rules --oo-ahls-- to mmmouth use,” Ax said morosely.

“I shall retrieve more,” Starfire volunteered, standing up again.

“No!” Beast Boy wailed, collapsing across the carpet in an expression of anguish. “We’ve already waited so long! I want to start the movie!”

“So how did you get your powers back?” Robin asked Tobias. He ignored Beast Boy’s glare.

Starfire gathered up the spilled remnants of snacks and flew back to the kitchen as Tobias replied, “The Ellimist did it. He wanted us to rescue the Hork-Bajir, too.”

“So he just reset you?” asked Cyborg.

“No,” said Tobias, glancing down at his hands. “He gave me morphing power and let me acquire myself, which was… weird. Now, I have to demorph every couple hours if I don’t want to lose the ability.”

“Huh,” said Robin, while Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven voiced their sympathies.

A beat passed, and then Cyborg turned to him in disbelief. “Did you really just say ‘Huh’?” he demanded.

Robin blushed. “I… I _am_ sympathetic. I just find it interesting that this Ellimist opted to fulfill tactical need over--" He stopped when he realized everyone was staring at him. “Nevermind.”

“Beast Boy and Cyborg are right,” Raven drawled. She flipped a page in her book. “You _are_ Batman.”

“I’M NOT BATMAN!”

“What film did you choose, Beast Boy?” Starfire asked, returning to the couch and carefully distributing bowls of snacks.

Beast Boy eagerly leapt to his feet in and held up the DVD case. “Alright! Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the sc--!”

“Nope!” Jake said, snatching a bowl of anomalous fruit from Ax. “You’re eating popcorn. No one in a human form is eating anything from the E.T. market.” He handed the bowl over to Robin.

Robin glanced down at it. “Why did you give it to me then?” he asked.

Jake feigned a look of surprise. “What? You mean you’re human?”

Robin threw something cube-shaped at him. Beast Boy sighed exaggeratedly. “I’m just gonna put this in the player,” he said, ears lowering as he walked over to the device morosely.

Starfire attempted to hand the last bowl, filled with candies, to Cyborg, but he became ill at the sight of it, and told her to give it to Ax. “What’s wrong with him?” asked Cassie.

“We battled Control Freak earlier,” Starfire said, settling down next to Robin and taking the bowl of galactic goodies. “Cyborg ate evil food.”

“We are STARTING NOW!” Beast Boy shouted at the group. Cyborg rolled his eyes and triggered the lights to dim. Beast Boy then pressed play.

Creepy music began to roll, and the title, _Wicked Scary_ , appeared on the screen. “Isn’t this movie supposed to be cursed?” asked Marco. “Whenever people watch it, strange things happen?”

“How would any of us _notice_?” Rachel laughed.

“Didn’t we just escape damnation?” Cassie teased.

Beast Boy almost told them to be quiet, but the bone-chilling scream of the actress on screen did that for him. Even Ax paused in his eating, wide eyes on the screen. Raven slipped her hand into Beast Boy’s as she watched the woman run for her life, and he grinned victoriously.

－ －

“AAAGH!”

Cassie jumped in surprise. “Jake!” she exclaimed angrily. “That’s not--!" She looked around. “Jake?”

“Hey, shush!” Beast Boy hissed. “Movie!”

“TURN THE LIGHTS ON!” Cassie screamed.

Confused, Cyborg obeyed. The lights blinked on to a blaring brightness, and Cassie looked around in panic. “Jake?!” she called. “Jake!”

“Cassie, calm down,” Robin said. He took the remote and turned off the TV, ignoring Beast Boy’s protests. “He’s probably just in the bathroom or something.”

“He was sitting _right_ here!” she insisted. “Jake doesn’t have teleportation abilities!”

“Maybe you were just--"

“Since you’re just pulling explanations out of your butt, maybe you want to try one _other_ than ‘Cassie’s crazy’?” Cassie snapped, crossing her arms.

“Okay,” said Robin, raising his hands. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He turned to Cyborg. “Cyborg, do you think you could--?”

“Scan the Tower for any sign of Jake?” he said with a smirk. “Already on it. I’m almost…” He paused. “Huh.”

“What ‘huh’?” Marco demanded.

“I, uh, I can’t find him,” said Cyborg.

“Are you _kidding me_?!” Rachel demanded.

That was when the electricity went out. Cassie, Beast Boy, and Starfire jumped and shrieked. A mostly-demorphed Ax looked around with his Andalite eyes. <This worries me,> he said.

“It’s just the storm,” said Raven. “I’ll retrieve the flashlights from the kitchen.”

Robin stood and motioned for everyone to quieten. “Look, I know we’re watching a scary movie and pranks are the usual for that sort of thing, but I would hope that everyone understands why it is _extremely_ not funny for Jake to go missing,” he said. “If anyone knows where he is, just say so. Please.”

Everyone just looked around at each other.

“Robin, I fear Jake may be stolen,” Starfire said, leaning forward worriedly.

“Gee, you _think_?” Marco snapped.

“This place does get broken into a lot,” said Tobias.

“By _you_!” Cyborg protested.

“Okay,” said Robin, “let’s split up and--"

“ _Hello_!” Beast Boy exclaimed. “Have you not been watching the movie? When you split up, the monster hunts you down one at a time, starting with the good-looking comic relief guy.” He grabbed Robin by the shirt. “That’s me!”

“No, you're not,” said Marco. “Besides, it’s already taken Jake fi-- And it’s _not_ a movie monster!” Raven returned to the group and handed him a flashlight.

Robin sighed and pulled Beast Boy off of him. He took a flashlight and handed another to Beast Boy. “We’ll split into three teams,” he said. “That keeps us sizable, but still able to cover more ground. Cassie, Raven, Rachel, and I are Alpha Team. Marco, Starfire, and Tobias are Beta Team. Cyborg, Ax, and Beast Boy are Gamma Team.”

Marco raised an eyebrow. “Nice distribution,” he said. He turned to the other Animorphs. “Anyone got a problem with that?” he asked. Cassie shook her head. Rachel scowled and crossed her arms, but said nothing. Ax and Tobias were already demorphing. Marco nodded. “Alright then. I call ‘not basement’,” he joked, and Rachel hit him as she passed by him to join Robin.

“How come I got stuck at the end of the overstocked team?” she grumbled.

Robin smirked. “Because every team has a bruiser on it,” he said. “You’re ours.” What he didn’t say was that every team also had someone with leadership qualities, and that _wasn’t_ her.

“Bruiser?” she repeated.

“A heavy-hitter,” he explained. “Someone like Starfire or Cyborg. Some of Marco and Beast Boy’s forms count, while _most_ of what I’ve seen from you does, not to mention your natural disposition.”

Rachel grinned broadly. “Yeah, okay,” she said, gladly taking a place next to him.

Cyborg brought up a schematic of the Tower on the holographic generator in his arm. In the dark, it lit his face with bright blue light. “Alright, Beta will take roof and work down. Gamma will start at this floor and work down. Alpha will start at the evidence room and work down,” he said.

Cassie startled. “How far down?” she asked.

“Until you find something,” said Cyborg. “Somebody has to take the basement, and Alpha is the biggest team.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” said Raven.

“Yeah, we stopped a third of the way from the ending,” Beast Boy said. “I don’t even see what you’re all wound up about.”

“It was the _worst_ third!” Starfire claimed.

“Focus?” said Robin. “We need to find Jake. So everyone move out.”


	2. Chapter 2

Anxious, and looking for distraction, Rachel picked up a discarded stuffed animal from the corner of the rec room. “Hey Raven?” she called sweetly, throwing it at the Raven as soon as she turned.

Raven dodged backward in surprise, then glared at Rachel. Rachel burst into giggles. “I knew you were actually jumpy from the movie!” she cried. “You shoulda seen your face!”

“You mean this face?!” Raven hissed angrily.

Rachel rolled her eyes. “No, the scared face,” she said. “Cool your jets. It was only a little joke.”

“It was puerile,” Raven snipped, continuing through the room.

Rachel glowered after her, crossing her arms and leaning against the pinball machine. “Be careful, Elvira, last time you started breaking out the fancy vocab, you got a little…” Rachel wiggled her fingers in front of her, mimicking a tentacled creature.

Raven’s eyes widened, briefly, then she scowled and stormed toward the opposite corner of the room to look behind a collection of game systems. “There is nothing to be afraid of,” she snarled, as Robin and Cassie entered from the adjoining supplies room.

“Guys, this is serious,” Cassie chastised.

“Sorry,” Rachel said throwing her hands up, but feeling a lot guiltier than she wanted to admit to. “I was just trying to show Raven that there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“I was not afraid,” Raven drawled, an irritated edge to her voice.

“GRRROWWWR!”

The sound came from the hall, and Cassie jumped. “Jake?!” She took off down the hall, with Rachel on her heels. Robin spared one glance at Raven, making sure she really was fine, before taking off after them. What they ran to, however, was not Jake, but a towering creature made of vines. It grinned with a mouth full of carnivore teeth, made an unearthly screech, and lashed out at them.

Screaming, the four fled. “Isn’t that the monster from the movie?” Cassie demanded. Behind her, the creature raked its claws across the walls as it followed them steadily.

“It must be Control Freak!” Robin snarled.

“What?” Rachel demanded.

“A villain we fought recently,” Raven told her with an unsettling amount of calm. “He can bring to life things like--" She started to gesture to the creature, but realized that it was no longer behind them.

“Well, at least we know what it is,” said Cassie. “... I guess.”

Rachel sighed heavily. “Look, Raven, I wasn’t trying to wind you up back there,” she said. “Well, I kind of was. I just wanted you to know that it’s okay to be afr--"

Raven spun around angrily only to see the monster seizing Rachel in its vines. While Robin threw birdarangs and explosives at it and Rachel and Cassie morphed, Raven floated up into the air, chanting, “Azarath. Metreon. Zinthos!”

Nothing.

Raven gasped. She looked down at her hands in shock. “My powers!”

Cassie’s wolf seized at the vines, snarling and tearing at them. But soon, she was also ensnared and both girls were pulled into the darkness. “No!” Robin shouted running after them. But there was no longer anyone there.

“I-- I’m sorry,” Raven said helplessly. “My powers…”

Robin shook his head. “Let’s get the others.”

－ －

“Where are they?!” Marco yelled back in the main room. “What did you let happen to Cassie and Rachel?!”

“You think we saw it grab them, shrugged our shoulders, and walked away?” Robin demanded angrily.

“Hey! Cool it!” Cyborg said, pushing between the two of them. “We’re all upset, but we can’t solve this with hot heads and tearing at each other!” He turned to Robin. “You said it looked like the movie monster. You think this is Control Freak?”

Robin shook his head. “I did, but we checked the evidence room again on our way up. His remote’s still there,” he said.

“So, what we’ve learned,” said Marco, “is that, of all the people it could be… it’s not this one person?” He rolled his eyes. “Good job, Scooby! You’ve solved the mystery!”

Raven shook her head. “Whoever it is, they’re not going to scare us,” she said.

<Really?> said Tobias, perched on Ax’s shoulder. <Because I’m pretty scared. Especially considering it was Rachel, Jake, and Cassie that got taken.>

“What, you really think that we--?” Cyborg started, but Robin suddenly cut him off.

“Fear!” Robin cried. “That’s it! The movie monster? Raven's powers? The answer's right in front of us! If Control Freak isn't behind this, it has to be--!”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Dark vines suddenly lifted him into the air and pulled him back away from the group. He tried to shout to them but vines covered his mouth.

Cyborg and Starfire immediately started pounding the creature with energy blasts. Beast Boy attempted to hit it, but spent more time avoiding vines than actually being any use. Marco morphed as Tobias launched himself from Ax shoulder with a scream, raking talons through its vines. But he, too, was ensnared. Ax leapt forward, tail striking, slicing, stabbing. But there was no discernable effect. In fact, he felt no resistance at all.

Cyborg and Beast Boy grabbed at Robin’s one free hand, trying to pull him out of the mess of shadowy vines, to no avail. Similarly, Starfire attempted to tear the vines away from Tobias, but instead they ensnared her wrists. Raven was barely able to pull her free in time.

Before Marco had even finished morphing, Robin and Tobias disappeared into the darkness of the nearest hallway.

“No…” Raven whispered, staring into the dark, empty hall in shock.

So did Cyborg. “I don’t suppose anyone knows what he--? HEY!”

Ax’s tailblade had whipped to Raven’s throat, a mere centimeter from cutting her. <Tell me what you did and how to reverse it,> he ordered.

“Why on earth would you think _she_ did it?!” Beast Boy cried angrily.

<This creature has no substance and yet is capable of interacting with us,> Ax said, refusing to budge his blade. <Lack of light seems to enable its dimensional manipulation and transportation abilities. All of this is congruent with Raven’s own abilities.>

Slowly, one by one, each of her friends turned to look at her. Cyborg and Beast Boy looked confused. Starfire wore a worried expression. Marco was as accusing and suspicious as Ax was vicious and sharp. “Raven, is that true?” Beast Boy asked, a hint of a pained whine to his voice.

Raven shook her head. “No! No, I… It can’t…”

Cyborg stepped forward toward her, despite Ax’s sharp glare of warning. “Raven, it’s okay. I know this is scary, but--"

“I am not afraid!” she snapped. “The accusations are--" She was broken off by Starfire’s screech as she spun and blasted something with a Starbolt.

<Your efforts at distraction will change nothing,> Ax told Starfire, glaring at her with one stalk eye.

“We’re not trying to-- YEE!” Beast Boy leapt on top of Cyborg to avoid a creature scurrying across the floor.

Cyborg glowered at them. “Guys, it’s just a rat,” he said. “Can we focus on--?”

<NOT A RAT!> Marco said, dodging out of the way. Then, suddenly, he slammed one huge, leathery fist down. <I have been in your head, Raven,> he snarled, holding the creature out by the tail. It was certainly rodent-like, but it was entirely black with four glowing red eyes. <This _is_ yours! >

“No, I--?” Raven shook her head, her shaking knees finally taking her to the floor. “I… I’ve lost control?”

<You say that as though it hasn’t happened at least twice before,> Ax snapped.

“Be quiet!” Starfire demanded. “And remove that blade before I remove it _from_ you!”

“Guys!” Beast Boy cried, jumping from Cyborg to the couch as more rodents scurried past them. “The floor is rats!”

Ax looked at Beast Boy oddly as he tried to step out of the way of the rats while keeping his blade positioned. <I am not sure my chip translated-->

“It is a cultural reference which I will explain later,” Starfire growled, floating up into the air as more and more rats swarmed the area. “Now, _get off the floor_ , you clorbag valblernek!”

<Fear,> Marco said, climbing onto the couch with Cyborg. Behind them, Ax ran to the coffee table. <Robin, said the key was fear!>

“Well, good job scaring her then!” Beast Boy snapped shooting a vicious glare at Ax.

Raven, on the floor, didn’t even bother protesting. Rats swarmed around her body, scratching and tearing at her, crawling under her cloak and through her hair while she cried and shook. “Raven!” Cyborg called. “Raven, it’s alright! Calm down! We can figure this out!”

“get him” Raven whimpered from amongst the swarm of rodents.

“What?” Starfire floated as close to her friend as she dared. “Raven, what are you--?”

“Get him,” she whimpered. “Get him, he can… he can control…”

Temrash? Starfire darted a glance toward the hall that lead to her bedroom, where Temrash and Phyzzon were in the portable pool for the night. Raven had never requested Temrash so soon after leaving him. As much as they all hated Temrash, she hated him even more.

No. Not hate…

Fear.

Starfire burned with fury. “What. Did. He. Tell. You,” she demanded. Impatiently, she raised a hand and blasted several rats from Raven’s back, knowing they would not truly hurt her anyway if they were hers.

“Nothing that isn’t true,” Raven said quietly, refusing to look up from her knees in shame. “I’m a monster. I’m barely controllable. I’m a time bomb. I’m a world-ender. All my presence here does is tear you down with me.”

“My friend, there is no depth you can pull me to which I have not experienced before,” said Starfire. “I do not fear you.”

“I DO!” Raven screamed. “ _I_ fear me! You don’t know what I’m capable of!”

“No,” Starfire admitted quietly, standing on a slowly clearing floor. “But Azarath did, did it not? What was that training for? The faith they had in you?”

Raven shook her head. “I need him,” she said. “He can--"

“Raven, a Yeerk is a _helper_ not a transformer,” said Starfire. “If these things you believe are true were so, there would be _nothing_ he could do. His lies are nothing more than a method of control. This cannot be the first time that you have ever felt fear.”

Raven shook her head.

“Good,” said Starfire. “So what did you do with fear _before_ Temrash?”

Raven closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Slowly, her shaking eased, and she began to calm. The rats began to disappear. Power flowed and coursed around her, and she levitated into the air. “Azarath.” She uncurled her body, power flaring out from her, and eyes glowing brightly. “Metreon.” She focused on the remaining rats and made a banishing motion. “Zinthos!”

Power crashed out from her in a black wave, and soon Raven collapsed, unconscious, into Starfire’s arms. The lights blinked on, and Beast Boy looked around curiously. “Is it over?” he asked.

“Yeah,” said Jake, standing in the doorway with a bear, a wolf, a hawk, and a Robin.

“Guys!” Marco exclaimed jumping off the couch and running toward them, Ax galloping right behind him. He probably would have tackled Jake to the floor if Jake wasn’t twice his size and being trained to take on such attacks.

<Tobias, you’re okay!> Ax exclaimed happily.

<Yeah, Ax-man,> said Tobias. <We’re fine. Nothing really happened.>

<Yeah,> said the bear, lying morosely on the floor. <Fine.>

“I don’t think those constructs were out to hurt us,” said Robin. “I think Raven’s mind just wanted her to acknowledge her fear.”

“Fear that Temrash gave her,” Cyborg grumbled.

“What do you mean?” Robin asked, confused. “She was afraid before Temrash. That’s why she agreed to try hosting him.”

Beast Boy leapt over to where Starfire was still cradling Raven. He took Raven’s hand worriedly. “He’s been making it worse!” he said. He turned back to Robin. “That’s why she’s been having even less control on her own than ever before.”

“He tells her terrible things,” said Starfire. “He wrecks her emotions, the keys to her powers, so that she will be forced to come back to him.”

Robin nodded solemnly. “Alright,” he said. “Do you know a way to contain him? An imprisonment until he can be turned over to a trustworthy authority?”

“ _Contain_ him?!” Starfire spat. “I will _kill_ him!”

Robin scowled. “Starfire, I explained to--"

“And I did listen,” she said. “I thought, ‘Well, Richard is from this place. Surely, he knows the systems of Earth better than I.’ But you do not! You fight to support a justice system that is so corrupt and incompetent as to be nearly non-existent!”

Cyborg put his hand on Starfire’s shoulder. “Yo, Star, that’s enough,” he said.

But she wrenched her shoulder from his grip. Still cradling Raven, she glared defiantly at Robin, eyes burning bright green. “You came to Jump City from Gotham City because, despite all his crimes and all his convictions, your Joker was still able to freely shoot Batgirl in the back. Well, he is free once again, Robin, as I am sure you know,” she snarled. “Is that what you wish for Raven? To be tormented again and again by some new supervillain with a sick obsession?”

“Star, that enough!” Cyborg cried, pulling her back. She allowed him to do so, but she kept her angry, tearful glare on Robin.

The worst part was, Robin didn’t get mad at her. He looked hurt and… and disappointed. “That was a really low blow, Starfire,” he said quietly.

She struck her chin out defiantly. “It was a true one.”

Robin shook his head. “Whatever you believe, Starfire, it is not your place, not any of our places, to decide who lives and who dies,” he said.

“Then why do you ever bother saving anyone?” she demanded.

Robin didn’t have an answer for her.

Starfire looked down at the girl in her arms. “But you are right. This is not my place.” She glared at Robin again, daring him to oppose her. “It is Raven’s, and I will do as _she_ wishes.” She hefted Raven’s body up into her arms so that she was carrying her bridal-style. “For now, I will take Raven to medical to make sure that she is okay.”

“I’ll go with you,” Cyborg offered, following her to the elevators.

After watching them leave, Beast Boy sat heavily on the floor. “Maybe that movie _is_ cursed,” he muttered.


End file.
